Astronaut Victor Glover on the Challenges of NASA Training

What is it like to train as an astronaut? Victor Glover, part of NASA’s 2013 astronaut class, is one of the few who knows what it’s like to prepare for a journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere. That includes training underwater to learn how to walk in space, make repairs to the International Space Station, and use equipment correctly. Glover and his fellow trainees also use virtual reality tools to learn how things work and feel in microgravity (a little different from the Apollo era!).

For Glover—an engineer and F/A-18 pilot in the United States Air Force—the challenge of joining the astronaut corps was a welcome one. For him, it’s important to “look for challenges—go out and seek those hard things.” Even in the face of failure, Glover notes that it’s important to stick with it. “Anything you try and step out there and do, you need to step out on faith because at some point you’re going to find challenges. But they’re not there for us to turn away from.” As for his trip to the ISS, he’s not sure yet what his mission will entail, but is looking forward to taking in a spectacular view of Earth.